Pastor Seth Troutt continues our series, **“The Blessed Life,”** by unpacking Jesus’ words, *“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”* (Matthew 5:9). In a world filled with conflict, gossip, and division, what does it actually mean to resemble our Father in heaven by making peace?

Drawing from Scripture and everyday life, Pastor Seth explores how true peacemaking begins with peace with God through Christ and then flows into our relationships—with friends, family, enemies, and even those who have deeply hurt us. He also contrasts real, costly peacemaking with both destructive conflict and a shallow “peace, peace” that ignores reality.

Whether you struggle with conflict avoidance, anger, gossip, or just feel overwhelmed by broken relationships, this message will help you see both the hope and the responsibility of living as a peacemaker.

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⏱️ **Message Outline**

**00:00 – Introduction**  
Seth opens with a personal story about resembling his earthly father and connects it to how followers of Jesus are called to resemble their Father in heaven. He introduces Matthew 5:9 and frames the sermon around what it means to be a peacemaker in a fractured world.

**03:54 – Anti-peace Makers**  
Before defining biblical peacemaking, Seth looks at its opposites: gossip, slander, division, faction-building, and false “peace.” He shows how our culture often celebrates these patterns, and how even Christians can justify them. He also explains the danger of saying “peace, peace” when there is no peace, and how Jesus disrupts false peace in order to bring true reconciliation.

**25:58 – The Ultimate Peacemaker**  
Here Seth turns to Jesus as the model and source of all peacemaking. He walks through how Christ makes peace between God and people through the cross, and how Jesus brings peace to surprising groups: sellouts, outcasts, oppressors, obvious sinners, judgmental religious people, and even close friends who have failed Him. From 2 Corinthians 5, he explains our calling as ambassadors of reconciliation.

**34:30 – Wisdom for Peacemaking**  
In this final section, Seth offers practical, biblical wisdom for living as peacemakers: seeking first to understand, refusing one-sided narratives, resisting gossip, and doing “as far as it depends on you” to live at peace with others (Romans 12:18). He also addresses why we often struggle to make peace—our insecurity before God—and calls us back to the grace and security we have in Christ as the foundation for real peacemaking.

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This message is part of **“The Blessed Life”** series through the Beatitudes, exploring what it truly means to live under the blessing of Jesus in everyday life.

00:00 - Introduction
03:54 - Anti-peace Makers
25:58 - The Ultimate peacemaker
34:30 - Wisdom for peacemaking

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Pastor Luke Simmons explores what Jesus means when he says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). In this message from our series “A Blessed Life,” Luke unpacks what the Bible means by “heart,” why purity of heart matters, and how it clears or clouds our vision of God. He also shows how we can pursue a pure heart through trusting Christ and guarding what we allow to shape our inner life.

BOOKMARKS:
00:00 - Introduction: Until Initiative update & breaking ground
05:39 - Big Idea: Your vision of God is clarified or clouded by your heart
06:46 - Your Heart: What the Bible actually means by “heart”
11:14 - Pure in Heart: Internal vs. external and the single-minded heart
15:59 - Seeing God: What it means to “see” God now and in eternity
24:25 - Pursue Purity of Heart: Put your hope in Jesus and guard your heart

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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Pastor Luke Simmons continues our series, “The Blessed Life,” by teaching on Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). In this message, Luke explains what mercy is, why it is central to God’s character and to our own experience of salvation, and how followers of Christ are called to live merciful lives.  

Looking at parables like the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18) and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), we see that mercy is compassion in action—expressed through forgiveness and practical care for those who are hurting. As people who have received an unpayable debt of mercy from God, we are invited to extend that same mercy to others.

00:00 - Introduction
07:19 - What does it mean to be merciful?
10:37 - Why are Christ’s people to be merciful?
19:31 - What does it look like to be merciful?

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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Pastor Seth Troutt continues our series, “The Blessed Life,” teaching on Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” 

In this message, Pastor Seth explores:
- Why our deepest desires are often unsatisfied  
- The difference between righteousness and self-righteousness  
- How our longing for “things to be right” ultimately leads us to God himself  
- Practical ways to train our desires through comparison to God, fasting, and feasting on his Word  

Discover how Jesus reframes desire, disappointment, and true satisfaction in the Christian life.

00:00 - Introduction
03:46 - Desire
11:53 - Disappointment
15:37 - Dikaiosunē
23:53 - Discipline

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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Pastor Seth Troutt continues our series, “The Good Life,” by unpacking what Jesus means when he says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” In a world that celebrates aggression, self-promotion, and getting even, meekness can sound like weakness or irrelevance. But Jesus presents meekness as a Spirit-shaped strength: the steadiness of a “heavy bag” that absorbs insult without lashing out, and the yielded power of a “broken and bridled” horse led by its rider.

In this message, Pastor Seth:
- Explores the nature of biblical meekness (or gentleness)  
- Looks at examples of meekness in Moses, Paul, and Jesus  
- Talks about how daily, deliberate discipleship forms meekness in us  
- Points us to the staggering promise that the meek will inherit not just the land, but the whole earth in Christ  

This sermon is part of our Beatitudes study in “The Good Life,” where we learn how Jesus turns the values of the world upside down and invites us into a better way to live.

00:00 - Introduction
08:30 - The Nature of Meekness
14:12 - The Meekness of Moses
16:51 - The Meekness of Paul
19:25 - The Meekness of Jesus
28:16 - How We Become Meek
34:10 - What the Meek Inherit

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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Pastor Luke Simmons continues our series The Blessed Life with a message from Matthew 5:4, exploring what it means to be “those who mourn” and why Jesus calls them blessed. This sermon looks at the kind of sorrow that leads to real comfort, focusing on a right response to sin, both in our own lives and in the world around us.

Rather than avoiding grief or numbing it, Jesus invites us to face it honestly. In this message, Pastor Luke explains how a healthy, God-centered sorrow shapes our hearts, draws us closer to Him, and ultimately leads to lasting comfort and restoration.

If you’ve ever wondered how sadness, repentance, and hope fit together in the Christian life, this teaching offers a clear and grounded perspective.

00:00 - Introduction
13:03 - What Jesus Did
19:41 - Who We Are
28:16 - How We Now Live

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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Pastor Luke Simmons begins a new series called “The Blessed Life,” looking at what Jesus says the truly good life is in Matthew 5:1–12, the Beatitudes. In this message, he focuses on the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

Luke explores what “blessed” really means, how being “poor in spirit” is different from just being sad or shy, and why recognizing our spiritual need is the starting point for experiencing God’s kingdom. He contrasts self-righteous confidence with humble dependence on God, using Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. 

This short sermon was preached when the church celebrated baptisms, highlighting how each story of life change begins with the realization, “I need mercy.”

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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Pastor Luke Simmons walks through Acts 17 and the Apostle Paul’s message in Athens to show how the resurrection of Jesus is the most important truth for every generation. Preaching from Paul’s address at the Areopagus, Pastor Luke explains:

- The God who needs nothing but wants you  
- How God has placed you “when” and “where” you are so that you might seek Him  
- Why God commands all people everywhere to repent  
- How the resurrection of Jesus is God’s proof that He will judge the world and can save anyone who turns to Him  

This Easter sermon concludes with three ways people responded then—and still respond today—to the risen Christ: mocking, investigating, or believing.  

If you’re exploring Christianity, returning to church, or celebrating Easter as a follower of Jesus, this message will help you consider what the resurrection means for you and how you will respond.

00:00 - Introduction
06:49 - God Needs Nothing
08:31 - God Wants You
13:34 - God Commands Repentance
16:41 - God Gives Assurance

Pastor Seth Troutt teaches from Hebrews 12 on the meaning of Good Friday and the joy that led Jesus to endure the cross. In this Good Friday service, we consider not only what happened at the crucifixion, but why Jesus willingly suffered and died. 

Seth traces the joy behind Jesus (the eternal love and joy within the Trinity), the joy before Jesus (His delight in redeeming and presenting His people), and the joy He shares with us (the joy of the Lord as our strength in temptation, suffering, and perseverance).  

This service invites us to reflect on Christ’s death, the love that motivated it, and how His joy now empowers our everyday obedience and endurance.

00:00 - Introduction
08:22 - Big Idea
09:09 - The Joy Behind Jesus
14:59 - The Joy Before Jesus
24:06 - The Joy He Shares With Us

Pastor Luke Simmons delivers the final message in our series, *The Glory of Salvation*, focusing on the powerful hope of glorification found in 1 Corinthians 15:42–58. In this sermon, we explore what it means for believers to be raised imperishable, transformed, and victorious through Jesus Christ.

As the series concludes, this message points us to the ultimate fulfillment of our salvation—where death is defeated, and we are fully restored in glory. Pastor Luke unpacks the Apostle Paul’s teaching on the resurrection of the body, reminding us that our future is secure and our present lives have eternal purpose.

Whether you’ve followed the entire series or are joining for the first time, this sermon offers encouragement, clarity, and a renewed perspective on the hope we have in Christ.

**Scripture:** 1 Corinthians 15:42–58
**Series:** The Glory of Salvation

Be encouraged, stand firm, and remember—your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

00:00 - Introduction
05:04 - What Glorification Is
07:53 - What Glorification Promises
25:51 - What Glorification Changes

**HOW TO FIND US*** 
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WEBSITE https://www.ironwoodchurch.org/